Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the total cost of fees, facilitation costs and enabling works for HS2 in each year since 2010.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The table below sets out the spend on HS2 in each year since 2009/10. Data for 2015/16 is currently provisional and so is not included.  2009/10 £m2010/11 £m2011/12 £m2012/13 £m2013/14 £m2014/15 £mTotal HS29.4324.354207.6318.2362.7

Railways: Competition

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of any studies regarding the "not primarily abstractive" test that the Office of Road and Rail makes in respect of open access applications to test its validity.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Her Majesty’s Government is not aware of any recent studies which specifically test the validity of the Office of Rail and Road’s not primarily abstractive test. However, it has made representations to the ORR on its appropriateness for use on individual open access applications, most particularly in relation to the recent open access applications on the East Coast Mainline.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 April (HL7764), whether or not European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c, which requires warning systems for any unsafe operating system, applies to engine oil that leaks onto hot aircraft engines over which cabin "bleed air" is drawn.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c does not require this. However the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standard for engine certification, CS-E 510, requires that a failure analysis and safety assessment is conducted by the engine manufacturer to show that hazardous concentration of toxic products will not enter the cabin bleed air. EU airlines are legally required to report any potential safety incident including where fumes or smoke are detected on board an aircraft. Although these incidents are rare, these reports are taken very seriously and reviewed thoroughly to identify any safety issues or trends. Passenger and crew safety is of paramount importance. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are constantly working to enhance safety standards.

Leader of the House of Lords

Northern Ireland Office: Written Questions

Lord Laird: To ask the Leader of the House, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079) and 22 January (HL4982), what guidance she has given to the Northern Ireland Office about answering questions fully and substantially, and in particular providing definitions as requested.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The position has not changed since I answered the Noble Lord’s question HL6043 on 17 February. That answer is included below for your ease of reference and I have nothing further to add to this.As Leader of the House, I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving full and timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. The content of each answer is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is responsible to the House for the answers they provide. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.The Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, there is a longstanding rule of this House that all answers should be complete and comprehensible. I shall continue to make this guidance clear to all Ministers.

Select Committee Reports

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask the Leader of the House what processes she has put in place to ensure that select committee reports are debated in a timely manner.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: My Noble Friend the Government Chief Whip makes regular offers of time, both on the Floor of the House and in Grand Committee, for debates on Select Committee reports to the Committee Office. The Committee Office then coordinates among Chairmen to determine which reports are debated on such occasions and in what order.Debates covering nine reports have already taken place this session.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Democratic Republic of Congo: North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) about reports that uranium from the DRC has been sold to North Korea.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March, which I repeated in the House of Lords the same day [HLWS571], the Government remains deeply concerned by North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and its sustained prioritisation of these programmes over the well-being of its own people. All states are obliged to abide by UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting uranium transfers to North Korea. We would take any credible reports of such transfers from anywhere in the world very seriously. We have not engaged with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on this issue.

North Korea: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 November 2015 (HL2969), whether the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment, as verified by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in December 2014, posed a terrorist threat to British nationals in the United States and the international community.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The destructive cyber attack directed against Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2015 was condemned at the time by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). The ability of both state and non-state actors to conduct sophisticated cyber attacks is something the UK takes seriously and we have committed to investing £1.9 billion in cyber security over the next 5 years. The Government does not hold information on British nationals involved in the Sony incident.

Islamic State

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Saddam Hussein’s elite guards and soldiers who have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government does not hold figures for the number of former military personnel from Saddam Hussein’s regime that joined Daesh. However, there are credible reports of several ex-Ba’athist senior military officials and personnel with weapons expertise having joined Daesh.

Attorney General

Confiscation Orders

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, in the light of the recent Panama papers scandal, of how many of the illegal assets subject to confiscation orders they will now be able to claim.

Lord Keen of Elie: On 10 April 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new cross-agency taskforce to obtain, analyse and take action on the information that has been made available from Mossack Fonseca and to take rapid action on any form of illegality that emerges.A number of investigations are underway and the taskforce, which is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will report on its progress later this year.

Confiscation Orders

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of engagement they have had with the private sector in pursuit of the £1.6 billion of illegal assets calculated by the National Audit Office to be subject to confiscation orders but which will evade recovery.

Lord Keen of Elie: In 2014 the Home Office established the Serious and Organised Crime Financial Sector Forum, an initiative to bring together Government, law enforcement agencies, regulators and the financial sector in a public-private partnership to tackle crime. Under its auspices, the National Crime Agency has trialled sharing data on uncollected confiscation orders with the banks, and leads the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT), which brings together banks and law enforcement agencies to share information to tackle money laundering. Work is continuing with the Financial Sector Forum to explore effective ways of sharing data between private sector entities.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

British Home Stores: Insolvency

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 6 June (HL Deb, col 625), what factors make it difficult to estimate the cost to the taxpayer of the failure of BHS; and in what ways those costs can be covered by existing BHS resources.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: It is too early to determine the cost to the taxpayer of BHS’ insolvency. When a company becomes insolvent, redundancy costs are paid from the National Insurance Fund, up to legal limits, as part of a statutory guarantee scheme administered by the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service. The Redundancy Payments Service then becomes a creditor in the insolvency and can recover some of the debt should any assets be sold as part of the insolvency process. If an employee has a claim over and above the statutory amount paid by the Redundancy Payment Service, then they can also claim as a creditor in the insolvency. Therefore, the cost to the Government depends on the number of people made redundant, the amount paid to them and the amount recovered from the insolvency as a creditor.

Overseas Students: Loans

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 9 May (HL7499) about the Student Loan Company, what are the EU-domiciled borrower figures categorised by individual country of domicile.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for International Development

North Korea: Refugees

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has access to North Korean refugees in China; and what steps they have taken to address the specific matter of China's responsibilities to aid North Korean refugees fleeing North Korea.

Baroness Verma: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not have access to the North Koreans at the border area in China.We raise our concerns around refoulement - the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution - regularly through our Embassy in Beijing and at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8116), whether the Deloitte auditors who determine the eligible Palestinian beneficiaries under the PEGASE mechanism are regulated by any British regulator.

Baroness Verma: Deloitte is a registered audit firm that employs certified public accountants who conduct their assignment in compliance with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) standards.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 25 April (HL7413), whether the independent auditor of UK payments to the Palestinian Authority that are channelled through a trust fund administered by the World Bank is regulated by any British regulator.

Baroness Verma: Deloitte is a registered audit firm that employs certified public accountants who conduct their assignment in compliance with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) standards.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8116), what is their assessment of the view expressed in section 4.1.1 of the Overseas Development Institute’s Final Report of November 2015 Evaluative Review of the Statebuilding Grant and the Palestinian Governance Facility—DFID Palestinian programme that "the manner in which DFID’s funds are demonstrated to have only paid the salaries of PEGASE-approved employees is of questionable efficacy", and the "accounting exercise" "undertaken ex post to show that DFID funds are less than the outstanding amount needed to fund salaries of PEGASE-approved PA employees" "is of questionable robustness, as this kind of notional earmarking provides few fiduciary assurances."

Baroness Verma: UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is used for the sole purpose of paying the salaries of civil servants responsible for providing essential services. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing, which is regularly reviewed and strengthened accordingly.As the ODI report itself makes clear, UK support to the PA is delivering real results, improving lives and is instrumental in preventing economic collapse and violent escalation.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 11 May (HL8117) what assessment they have made of paragraph 27 of the Third Report of the House of Commons International Development Committee The UK’s Development Work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which states "We are nevertheless concerned that DFID is not taking adequate measures to prevent its funds from being misused. Given the scale of the operation, with 85,000 civil servants being paid with UK money, there is a serious risk of abuse. We do not regard a six-monthly audit as an adequate protection to secure the integrity of UK aid money."

Baroness Verma: We investigate thoroughly any claims that UK funds are misused. UK aid to the PA is subject to rigorous scrutiny, with safeguards in place to ensure its being used for proper development purposes.UK support to the PA funds named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list only. The EU PEGASE mechanism is used to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international and ad hoc sanctions lists. The screening covers over 20 different risk categories, including terrorism financing and is updated daily.The EU PEGASE mechanism is independently audited, as is UK direct financial assistance to the PA.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 12 May (HL8117), what assessment they have made of paragraph 29 of the Third Report of the House of Commons International Development Committee The UK’s Development Work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which states "We are also extremely concerned about the PA’s policy of paying salaries to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. While appreciating it is a sensitive issue, issuing payments to families based on the length of jail terms, rather than need, is a political and not a welfare decision and thus unacceptable. In addition, while the British Government maintains that no UK money supports this activity, UK aid payments fund the payment of PA civil servants. It could therefore be said with some justification that this payment of UK funds enables the PA to release alternative funds which allow these payments to continue.".

Baroness Verma: The UK provides financial support to the PA because we want to help deliver peace and support progress towards a two state solution, which is the only way to secure a prosperous and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The UK support to the PA funds named civil servants from a pre-approved EU list only. The EU PEGASE mechanism is used to earmark funds to payment of vetted PA civil servants and pensioners. The list of approved recipients is subject to a vetting process that includes screening against international and ad hoc sanctions lists. The screening covers over 20 different risk categories, including terrorism financing and is updated daily. The EU PEGASE mechanism is independently audited, as is UK direct financial assistance to the PA.As the Committee noted, prisoners are a sensitive political issue on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Payments to Palestinian prisoners are made by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which has full administrative control for the monthly payments that are provided to prisoners’ families and dependants. The UK has consistently raised prisoner payments at the highest levels with the Palestinian authorities and continues to urge that these payments are more transparent, needs-based and affordable.

Rwanda: Abortion

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to support the women reportedlyimprisoned in Rwanda for terminating their pregnancies after rape.

Baroness Verma: The Department places the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of its programme in Rwanda. We mainstream women and girls across our programme, and deliver targeted interventions where needed to address particular constraints faced by women. For example, we are providing up to £4.6m over 4 years (2014-2018) for a programme that will work with women and men, opinion leaders and members of the community to tackle the triggers of gender-based violence. The programme will reach over 1.7 million people. We are also supporting a Girls Empowerment Programme which is enabling 92,000 girls over three years to meet in safe spaces across the country. The girls are mentored and guided through a curriculum that includes sexual and reproductive health, prevention of violence and guidance on staying safe and healthy.

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much UK aid has been given to Pakistan over the last five years; and how much of that has been used to promote human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.

Baroness Verma: Since financial year 2011-12, the UK has provided more than £1.2 billion of official development assistance to Pakistan. A commitment by Pakistan to respect human rights is one of the four principles set out in the Partnership Principles Assessment which provides the basis for regular bilateral assistance talks between the UK and Pakistan.The UK Government raises human rights issues and the rights of minorities on a regular basis at the highest levels in Pakistan and we ensure our development assistance targets poor women and men, regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. Through DFID’s Peacebuilding Support Programme (PSP) we are supporting the provincial Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve security and access to justice for 250,000 citizens and the new Rule of Law programme will strengthen security and justice institutions across the country. The Aawaz voice and accountability programme works in 45 districts with over 3 million poor people including minority communities to promote their rights and DFID’s education programme has enabled 4.6 million more girls to attend primary and secondary school, to stay longer and learn more.

Middle East: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK funding available to support refugee children in state schools in Jordan and Lebanon can also be made available to voluntary organisations for the same purpose.

Baroness Verma: The UK is supporting the Governments of Jordan and Lebanon to deliver the landmark commitments made at the London Syria Conference to enable every refugee and vulnerable host community child to access education by the end of the 2016/2017 school year. UK funding will be aligned with the plans of partner governments and a range of delivery mechanisms are being considered. Our approach is not exclusive: programmes will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale.The UK has worked with NGOs and voluntary organisations to provide support in both Jordan and Lebanon and will consider partnering with those that can demonstrate the ability to deliver effective results in line with Government strategies, progress towards the London Conference goals and offer value for money.

Palestinians: Lebanon

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent survey by the American University of Beirut and UNRWA on the socioeconomic status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; and what bilateral and multilateral action they are taking to meet the challenges identified by that survey.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government is aware of the survey by the American University of Beirut and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). DFID staff attended the survey’s launch event and have noted its findings.The UK is a long-term supporter of UNRWA, including in Lebanon, providing over £60 million in 2015/16 and remaining the third largest donor to the UNRWA General Fund. We also provided £12m in total to UNRWA in Lebanon through the 2015 and 2016 Syria Emergency Appeals, and £1.9m this year through the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund, supporting Palestinian youth with vocational and English skills training and job placement.DFID has also committed to spending up to £40m a year on education in Lebanon, with a major programming element aimed at providing non-formal education to the most vulnerable children and youth, including Palestinians.

St Helena: Airports

Lord Soley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Verma on 7 June (HL Deb, col 663), what is meant by the phrase "depend on securing the right aircraft".

Baroness Verma: We are seeking to establish commercial air services using the southern approach to the runway where wind shear is not a significant issue. A number of aircraft types have been identified which should offer reasonable performance using a southern approach (the Airbus A318 and A319, Boeing 737-600 and 737-700). We are in discussions with airlines on how we can bring one of these into service.

Middle East: Health Services

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Decision on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory adopted at the 69th World Health Assembly, whether they will bring forward resolutions at the Assembly concerning people in urgent need of health care in Yemen and attacks on medical facilities in Syria.

Baroness Verma: Tackling emergency healthcare needs in Yemen is absolutely critical. According to the United Nations, more than 14 million people lack access to basic healthcare in Yemen in 2016 and 2.1 million women and children are malnourished, of which an estimated 320,000 are severely malnourished children. We are currently focussed on helping to meet those needs and have no plans for a resolution at this stage. Since January 2015, UK assistance has helped provide healthcare to more than 120,000 Yemenis and improved sanitation for over 650,000 people.In Syria, it is unacceptable that parties to the conflict continue to carry out flagrant human rights violations, indiscriminate attacks against densely populated areas and targeting of civilian infrastructure. We are particularly concerned by continued attacks against health facilities and personnel, with only 40 percent of public hospitals reported as functioning.The UK has consistently supported the need for accurate reporting and accountability for the atrocities that have been committed in Syria. The UN Secretary General and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, already provides monthly reports to the UN Security Council on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law inside Syria. These updates include detailed reports on attacks on medical facilities.

Ministry of Justice

TDPi: Civil Servants

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims on 6 June (HC38271), what they mean by "unlikely" and what chance there is that any intellectual property belonging to, or confidential information relating to, the Ministry of Justice or the National Offender Management Service was compromised as a result of former staff gaining employment with TDPi.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims on 6 June (HC38271), how they have strengthened procedures as a result of this investigation.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims on 6 June (HC38271), whether they will publish the letter to TDPi.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims on 6 June (HC38271), what resources were allocated to, and who led, that review.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims on 6 June (HC38271), what mechanism they have used to increase awareness of the Business Appointment Rules within the National Offender Management Service.

Lord Faulks: As my Hon Friend, the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation announced on 14 March, we take these allegations of the type raised by the Mail on Sunday on 13 March extremely seriously and we launched an immediate investigation into them, which was conducted by a senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office's Proprietary and Ethics team. This investigation found no evidence of the Department’s intellectual property or confidential information being compromised as a result of staff leaving the Department to join TDPi. Neither did the investigation find any evidence of improper culture or general lack of professionalism in relation to how NOMS staff interact with suppliers or contractors.The MoJ has clear rules and governance in place around the standards of conduct for current and former civil servants. All permanent civil servants are covered by the Cabinet Office's Business Appointment Rules. For employees below the Senior Civil Service grade, the rules expect an ex-employee to submit an application form within a year of them leaving office if their circumstances match one or more of the points set out at Section 13 of the Business Appointment Rules. Following the investigation, we have briefed all Human Resources managers and all staff at Senior Civil Service in NOMS about the procedures. The process has been strengthened that we now circulate the procedures to senior managers annually. As my Rt. Hon Friend the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims said in his answer of 6 June (HC38271), over the last six months, we have improved our commercial capability, more than doubling the senior commercial experts monitoring work with the private sector.We have no plans to publish the letter to TDPi.

Ministry of Defence

European Union: Army

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 June (HL345), whether they can veto any proposed EU army, or whether this could go ahead under "enhanced co-operation" between other EU member states.

Earl Howe: The Prime Minister has been clear that the United Kingdom's Armed Forces will never be part of a European army. In the Treaty on the European Union there is special provision for any decision within the EU that has military or defence implications. Such decisions must be made unanimously, meaning that the UK has a veto. This also applies to enhanced co-operation, which requires agreement by all member states before it can be undertaken.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pension Protection Fund

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the amount paid in levies to the Pension Protection Fund in each of the three years to 2012–13 due to companies using a contingent asset to replace the Pension Protection Fund’s Failure Score for the company with that of a different company, compared to what these companies paid in (1) 2012–13, (2) 2013–14 and (3) 2014–15.

Baroness Altmann: The Pension Protection Fund has not made a comparison of the amounts paid by schemes with a contingent asset prior to 2012/13 with later years, as substantial changes in the way that levies are calculated from year to year do not allow for robust comparison.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

School Milk

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to develop a strategy for implementing the revised European School Milk Scheme by September 2017.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The regulations for the revised EU Milk Scheme come into force this month and will apply from 1 August 2017. Detailed rules for implementing the scheme and for the drawing up of national strategies are now being negotiated. We will use this period to consider the new requirements and expect to start consultation with interested parties this autumn.

HM Treasury

Public Sector: Pensions

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to implement the suggested changes to the Tata pensioners pension fund to all public sector pensions.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In response to proposals put forward by the British Steel Pension Scheme and supported by Tata Steel UK, the Government is consulting on options to enable a potential restructuring of the British Steel Pension Scheme to deliver a scheme that is sustainable and provides clarity and security to scheme members. The consultation closes on 23 June 2016.In the last Parliament the Government took action to secure the long term sustainability of public service pensions, by changing the indexation of pensions in payment to the Consumer Prices Index, increasing member contributions by 3.2 percentage points on average, and introducing new career average pensions schemes with higher normal pension ages and a cost control mechanism.

Overseas Trade

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 1 June (HL107), (1) why HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries but not for EU countries, and (2) how they and the Bank of England manage sterling interest and exchange rates in the absence of such data.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries as a basis for calculating customs duty under customs and statistical law. It is published in the UK on a dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com) and available to all. This data is also used by the European Institutions (e.g. the European Central Bank) to monitor the share of the Euro in international trade. There is no legislative requirement for this information to be collected for trade with EU countries. The UK’s monetary framework is clear, the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England sets Bank Rate to target 2% inflation. The UK does not have an exchange rate target, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly, and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Climate Change: Developing Countries

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change's additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy. In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).



CIF Committee Governance
(PDF Document, 701.82 KB)

Carbon Emissions: China and India

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of world atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions China and India contributed in the latest period for which records are available.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: There are no official emissions estimates available for recent years for many developing countries, including India and China. One widely used 3rd party estimate is however available from the World Resources Institute CAIT dataset. This data suggests that in 2012, the latest available year, China’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions (including land use, land use change and forestry, but excluding international aviation and shipping ) accounted for around 22% of the global total (25% for CO2 only). India’s domestic greenhouse gas emissions (including land use, land use change and forestry, but excluding international aviation and shipping) accounted for around 6% of the global total (5% for CO2 only).

Electricity Generation

Lord Rowlands: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what Capacity Market auctions have been held to date under the Energy Act 2013, and what were the price and terms of the successful bids at each auction.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Three Capacity Market auctions have been held so far. Two market-wide, four-year ahead (T4) auctions were held in December 2014 (for delivery in 2018/19) and December 2015 (for 2019/20), clearing at £19.40/kW and £18.00/kW respectively, and securing 49.3GW and 46.4GW of capacity for delivery in those years. A smaller-scale Transitional Arrangements auction, focused solely on the Demand Side Response (DSR) sector, was held in January 2016, securing 803MW of DSR for 2016/17 at a clearing price of £27.50/kW. Winning bidders obtain Capacity Market Agreements, whose terms are established in law by the Capacity Market regulations and rules. Winning bidders and the volume of their individual agreements are published on National Grid’s CM register. Results for the three auctions held so far are attached. 



T4 2014 Final Auction results
(PDF Document, 1.19 MB)




T4 2015 Final Auction results
(PDF Document, 738.78 KB)




Transitional auction 2016 - final results
(PDF Document, 687 KB)

Cabinet Office

Electoral Fraud Review

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the review of electoral fraud being undertaken by Sir Eric Pickles will be completed and its recommendations published.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Sir Eric Pickles will issue his report to the Prime Minister in due course.

Public Sector: Recruitment

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to require applicants for jobs in the public sector to state whether they went to an independent school.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Appointments should always be made on merit. Her Majesty’s Government do not have plans to require applicants for jobs to state whether they went to an independent school. We are engaging on proposals to develop a set of potential measures for employers to understand the socio-economic backgrounds of their workforces and applicant pools. Type of school attended (primary and secondary) make up two of twenty-six measures which employers and organisations have been asked to considerOver the past few years’ real effort has been put into broadening access to the Civil Service. It is important to be able to measure, overall, the success and impact of these policies. Any background measures would be collected on an entirely voluntary basis and used anonymously. They will not form the basis of any individual recruitment decision.

Constitutional Reform Committee

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times the Cabinet Constitutional Reform Committee has met since its appointment in May 2015.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet, is generally not disclosed.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of the contract awarded to Sport and Entertainment Ltd for organising the Queen's Patron Lunch on Sunday 12 June; and why this contract did not go out to tender.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Patron’s Lunch, held on Sunday 12 June is not a government-run event.

Department of Health

Department of Health: Nurses

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to reduce the number of nurse advisers in the Department of Health.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As part of the DH2020 plan, the Department is making significant changes to the way it works. The underlying principles informing the changes include that the Department should focus on its core and unique functions to improve the health and care system in England to help people to live better for longer. The Department’s approach is to flexibly access professional advice from a wide range of sources, including arms-length bodies, regulators and professional bodies, rather than from fixed standing teams of internal advisers.These changes do not affect the role of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), who as the CNO of the Department already advises, and will continue to advise, all Ministers and the Department on the range of nursing issues.